Charles Fischer

Note they play UCLA later today, not tomorrow. Long day!

This is fun to follow! All four Pac-12 teams advanced to the National Semifinals! Ducks Down LSU, Advance to NCAA Semifinals CARLSBAD, Calif. — The Oregon women’s golf team is one win away from the national title match after defeating No. 2 seed LSU, 3-2, on Tuesday morning in the quarterfinals of the 2024 NCAA Championships at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa. The No. 7 seeded Ducks advance to play No. 6 seed UCLA in the semifinals later on Tuesday, beginning at 1:15 p.m. PT. Golf Channel will have coverage beginning at 3 p.m. Oregon got two points from its two seniors, Ching-Tzu Chen and Minori Nagano, before freshman Kiara Romero won her match on the 18th hole to send Oregon into the semifinals. “I’m so proud of our group for coming together,” head coach Derek Radley said. “Our two senior leaders stepped up and put two points on the board, and our three freshmen are fighting like crazy. So honored and so proud to be going back to the final four.” How it Happened: Nagano wasted little time to secure Oregon’s first point of the day, immediately picking up a 1 up advantage on the first hole. Her lead remained 1 up until the sixth hole, where she won her first of six straight holes to move to 7 up through 11. She halved her next hole and put her opponent away, 7&6. Chen held a 3 up lead through 14 holes, after winning back-to-back holes to start the back nine. A pair of impressive birdies by LSU’s Carla Tejedo Mulet brought Chen’s lead to 1 up through 16, but Chen halved each of the final two holes to win, 1 up. LSU pulled the match even with a pair of wins in the third and fourth pairings, leaving Romero on the course against LSU’s Aine Donegan. Romero was trailing through the first eight holes before winning No. 9 to pull even, and she picked up another win at No. 10 to go 1 up. After Donegan tied the match again at No. 13, Romero bounced back to win No. 14 and move back in front. Donegan made a long birdie putt at No. 15 to put the pressure on Romero, but Oregon’s star freshman responded with a birdie putt of her own. Romero again drained a birdie putt at No. 16 to move to 2 up with two holes to play. Donegan responded with a birdie at No. 17 to cut Romero’s lead to 1 up, but Romero made par on No. 18 to lock up Oregon’s spot in the semifinals. What it Means: Oregon reaches the NCAA semifinals for the second time in program history, and will look to return to the national title match after finishing as the NCAA runner-up in 2022. The semifinals features only Pac-12 teams, with the winner between Oregon and UCLA advancing to face either Stanford or USC in the championship match on Wednesday afternoon. NCAA Quarterfinal – Oregon 3, LSU 2 Ching-Tzu Chen (Oregon) def. Carla Tejedo Mulet (LSU), 1 up Minori Nagano (Oregon) def. Taylor Riley (LSU), 7&6 Latanna Stone (LSU) def. Ting-Hsuan Huang (Oregon), 3&2 Ingrid Lindblad (LSU) def. Karen Tsuru (Oregon), 4&3 Kiara Romero (Oregon) def. Aine Donegan (LSU), 1 up

OK...that is a very legit point. Where would we be without superior recruiting? Where would Lanning be without the portal? The rebuild would have taken twice as long... A conversation like this demonstrates the impact that each coach made to the future of Oregon football, and THANKS to Ryan for the fascinating topic!

Oregon was down 3-2, but is now leading 3-2, but by thin margins. Check the progress right here! All four quarterfinal matches have a Pac-12 team in them, with three of them going to the B1G later...

The link works for me, but UNDEFEATED?

Long story short...Delta is adding flights to Portland and Eugene for the big game versus Ohio State. Has that happened before? Is Autzen going to be OVERRUN?

It is pretty hard, because without Brooks....nothing happens and we are in the fix that OSU is in. Yet Belotti raised the bar, and Chip made us a household name...and Lanning makes us all believe that the final step is finally achievable. Phil Knight was approached often by Brooks and Bellotti, but would not take part until Oregon went to the '94 Rose Bowl and '95 Cotton Bowl on their own. Winners want to work with winners, and our two coaches had to do it on their own first. Even when he joined...he was not the major donor of the first major project; the Indoor Practice Facility was named and primarily funded by Ed Moshofsky, a former Oregon player who founded a timber company. Ed Moshofsky

The leaderboard to track how the women are doing is right here, as matches of Oregon vs. LSU are taking place right now.

Dan Lanning is doing EVERYTHING right...

Seniors Propel Ducks to Championship Match Play CARLSBAD, Calif. — For the second time in three years and third time in program history, the Oregon women’s golf team has advanced to match play at the NCAA Championships. The Ducks earned the No. 7 seed and will face No. 2 seed LSU in the NCAA quarterfinals on Tuesday morning after tying for sixth place in stroke play on Monday at 19-over par, three strokes clear of the cut line for the top eight. Oregon was locked in a battle for the final spots for most of the final round, and even fell below the cut line midway through the day after starting in a tie for seventh. But the Ducks’ two seniors, Ching-Tzu Chen and Minori Nagano, combined to shoot 5-under par over their final nine holes to get their team back into qualifying position and secure their spot in the quarterfinals. “I am so proud of CCT and Minori for the way they led this team today,” head coach Derek Radley said. “What they were able to do on the final nine holes when their team needed them most was truly incredible. They stepped up in the biggest moments and they showed our three freshmen what it means to lead not only with your words, but with your actions.” Star freshman Kiara Romero ended stroke play as Oregon’s top finisher, in sixth place overall at 4-under par after leading the Ducks with an even-par 72 on Monday. Her 4-under 284 for the tournament is the best individual 72-hole performance in program history, and her sixth-best finish is the second-best ever by a Duck at the NCAA Championships. “Just an incredible four days for Kiara out there,” Radley said. “Even as a true freshman as the moments got bigger and the lights got brighter, she stayed committed to her game and her plan and went out there and executed. She is so naturally talented and works so hard to get better each and every day. She was a rock for our team this week and she deserves all of the accolades that are coming her way.” But it was Chen and Nagano who proved to be the difference on Monday. After combining to shoot 9 over on the back nine – Oregon started its round on hole No. 10 – the senior duo made six birdies between No. 1 and No. 5 and combined to make just one bogey on the front side. Oregon finished tied for sixth with UCLA, while LSU ended stroke play in a tie for first with Stanford. Tiebreaker procedures determined it would be the Ducks vs. the Tigers on Tuesday morning beginning at 6:50 a.m. PT from hole No. 1, with the winners advancing to face either UCLA or Texas A&M in the semifinals later in the day. “Our team has gone through quite a few ups and downs this season, and their hard work and resiliency is being rewarded now with a trip to the quarterfinals,” Radley said. “They deserve this, and I’m so proud of what they’ve been able to do so far this week. We’re going to continue to lean our seniors, continue to play for each other and we’re going to come out and give our very best tomorrow and see how far we can take this thing.” How it Happened: Starting their day on the more difficult of the two sides, the Ducks got birdies from Romero and Nagano on No. 10 but then made just one more birdie before the turn, by freshman Ting-Hsuan Huang on No. 17. Oregon dropped below the cut line for a period of time, but remained within striking distance as it battled with UCLA, Auburn, Wake Forest and Arkansas for the final three spots. After making six straight bogeys on the back nine, Chen rattled off four birdies in five holes coming out of the turn. She saved a bogey on a very difficult par-5 at No. 6 after an errant tee shot, but rebounded to end her round with three straight pars. Nagano also ran into trouble going into the turn, making a bogey at No. 17 and a double at No. 18. But after a pair of pars to open the front nine, she chipped in for a birdie at No. 3 and then stuck her approach at No. 4 to set up a short birdie putt. She rode that momentum to five consecutive pars to finish, leaving only Romero on the course with Oregon safely above the cut line. Romero was fairly drama free in her final round, making a bogey at No. 12 after opening with a birdie but then making six straight pars. She opened the front side with a bogey, but then made four pars in a row before a birdie at No. 6. She cruised in with three straight pars, lagging a birdie putt to tap-in range on No. 9 before beginning the celebration for the Ducks. Huang matched Chen with a 3-over 75 to complete Oregon’s counting scores, and her birdie at No. 17 was a much-needed momentum boost for the Ducks as they finished the back nine. What it Means: Oregon was the national runner-up in 2022, and now returns to NCAA match play after falling short of the NCAA Championships last season. Only Chen remains from that 2022 team, and she entered this weekend as the only player in Oregon’s lineup with NCAA Championships experience. It will take two wins in match play across a grueling 36-hole day on Tuesday to return to the national championship match, but the Ducks have shown all weekend long they are up to any challenge set in front of them. Notable: Romero became Oregon’s single-season record holder for birdies on Monday, making two to give her 118 on the season and break a tie with Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu … Both Lu and Tze-Han (Heather) Lin were in attendance on Monday and walked mainly with Chen, their teammate from that 2022 team … Chen’s four birdies give her 356 in her career, moving her past Caroline Inglis (354, 2013-16) for second-most in program history. NCAA Quarterfinals – Oregon vs. LSU Teeing off from hole No. 1 6:50 a.m. – Ching-Tzu Chen (Oregon) vs. Carla Tejedo Mulet (LSU) 7:00 a.m. – Minori Nagano (Oregon) vs. Taylor Riley (LSU) 7:10 a.m. – Ting-Hsuan Huang (Oregon) vs. Latanna Stone (LSU) 7:20 a.m. – Karen Tsuru (Oregon) vs. Ingrid Lindblad (LSU) 7:30 a.m. – Kiara Romero (Oregon) vs. Aine Donegan (LSU)

Will Stein is killing-it as a developer of quarterbacks, and a recruiter of QBs! Have you ever seen all four QBs play so well in a Spring Scrimmage?

I am shaking my head again at our good fortune of having Dan Lanning, who recruited Will Stein to be our OC. Below is a quote from Ryder Lyons, a 2026 QB prospect, and it is from an On3 article with some other great stuff that I'll leave to the subscribers. “I think Coach Stein is just an incredible human, not even a coach,” he said of the Oregon OC. “You get those, there’s some people where you can kind of just tell they’re being a little fake, it’s not real. But you never really get that from Coach Stein. I’ve never felt that it’s just being fake. He’s not just being a recruiter, he’s not telling me what I want to hear. He’s just telling me what the truth is, which is a big deal ’cause a lot of these coaches kind of don’t do that.”

Gentlemen, you exemplify the height of what we strive for on this forum, and what so many who left us do not have the guts to be. You disagree, but do not take personal shots at each other, and are humble in your disagreement. (I wish I could say I was as noble...) Was this the exchange of the year? Both you guys take a bow... And aside from being classy--I love both your takes on the topics!

You nailed it Alex. This is the biggest, most consequential off-season in Oregon football history, IMHO. Meanwhile, in October last year I wrote, "Forget about next year, as you rarely have so much experience stacked into one season as we do this year." And that was true until the incredible off-season! That was the definition of, "this did not age well!" I am still shaking my head at all the good fortune... Do Oregon Fans ‘GET’ How Special the 2023 Team Is? | FishDuck FISHDUCK.COM A high percentage of Oregon fans and media sources outside the state do not truly understand how special and unique this 2023 team is in terms of experience.

Google is your friend....explanations in the article below. Bracket set for 2024 Pac-12 Baseball Tournament in Scottsdale PAC-12.COM 2024 Pac-12 Baseball Tournament | Pac-12 Standings | Tickets | Bracket (PDF) | Pac-12 Tournament Record Book

AMEN Duck-Brother. I'm sure the Pig-2 know what they're doing....

NORMAN, Okla. — Oregon took three-time defending national champion Oklahoma down to the wire Sunday, before the No. 2 Sooners eked out a 3-2 win at Love's Field to advance to the NCAA Super Regionals and end the Ducks' season. A home run by Tehya Bird and an RBI single from fellow senior Emma Kauf tied the game at 2-2 in the third. Another senior, Morgan Scott, got the final 10 outs in the circle for Oregon, but she took over after the Sooners had rallied for a run in the fourth — which proved to be the difference in a tightly contested game. "Any time you're in a game like this, it's going to be tough — we're gonna throw punches, they're gonna throw punches," UO coach Melyssa Lombardi said. "And it's about just staying in it, staying in it. We always talk about that it doesn't have to look a certain way. It's just the ability to fight and persevere and stick together and go get what we want, and you could really see that from our group today." The loss ended the UO careers of nine seniors, including Bird, Kauf, Scott, Ariel Carlson, Hanna Delgado, Vallery Wong, Alyssa Daniell, KK Humphreys and Raegan Breedlove. "Version 6" of the Ducks under Lombardi finished the year 30-21, having reached an NCAA Regional final for the fourth year in a row. "I grew up going to games at Oregon, and it's always been a dream of mine to play here," said Carlson, a Eugene native who is planning to remain with the program next season as director of player development and analytics. "Wearing this jersey is so special and I'm so proud of the direction this program is going. Playing for this staff and with these girls, it's been amazing. I couldn't ask for a better team or a better program." How It Happened: Elise Sokolsky started in the circle for Oregon and allowed two singles to open the game, for which the Ducks were the designated home team. But she minimized the damage by allowing just one run, on a sacrifice fly, a theme for UO pitchers on the day as they kept the Ducks in the game. Freshman Taylor Spencer (7-4) took over for Sokolsky in the second after a one-out double brought in another run that made it 2-0. Spencer walked a batter with two outs but stranded both runners, again limiting the damage. "I'm so proud of this team," Carlson said. "We knew they were going to come out hot from the start — that's what they do. So nothing really surprised us. We knew it was going to be that kind of game, back and forth. So we were prepared for it. The Pac, our entire schedule prepared us for that, so we were ready to go when that happened." The Ducks proved it in the third, after Spencer threw a 1-2-3 top of the inning. Bird hit a one-out solo home run, her second of the weekend to give her multiple homers in two straight NCAA Regionals. With two out in the inning, Kai Luschar singled. She took second on a base hit by Carlson and advanced to third on an error, and Kauf drove in Luschar with a single to tie the game, though Carlson was thrown out at home trying to score the go-ahead run on the play. "It was really special to be able to do that for my team and keep us in the game," Bird said of her homer that sparked the inning. "It's something I'll never forget, for sure." The Sooners answered in the top of the fourth. Spencer got two quick outs, but the next three batters reached, the third on an RBI single that put Oklahoma back in front, 3-2. Oregon managed a two-out double by Daniell in the fourth, and Kauf singled again in the sixth. But the Ducks weren't able to forge another tie or take the lead, and their season came to an end. "I've been going to Oregon camp since I was 9 years old, so Oregon means everything to me," Bird said. "It was the only school I've ever wanted to go to, and as soon as I got that offer, there was no place else. When coach Lombardi came in as coach and I was already committed, I knew that I was going to stay a Duck no matter who was there, and it just made it so special that coach Lombardi was there for us. So Oregon means everything to me and I'll be a Duck for life." The Ducks ended the Norman Regional 2-2, with a win over Boston University on Friday, a loss to the Sooners followed by a win over the Terriers in an elimination game Saturday night, and ultimately Sunday's finale of the double-elimination weekend. "I just can't say enough about my team and how proud I am of them," Lombardi said. "This group of seniors has been an absolute blessing. They all came at different times, but they're all leaving together and what they've created together — the standard that they've set for our future teams — I think Version 7, they are gonna be able to take Version 6's lead. "I know that no matter what's next for them, that they're going to excel, and then they're gonna be just really, really good at what they do. They're invested in us, not just in softball, but just invested in us as people and willing to do what it takes for us all to be great together. So I love the fight that we had today. We were right there, just needed a couple more. But to see us yesterday and then to see what we did today, that's Duck softball right there. And so I'm just proud and blessed to have these guys by my side." Notable: Carlson's third-inning single gave her a 10-game hitting streak, the longest by a Duck since Terra McGowan had a 12-game streak last season. McGowan spent this year in the staff position Carlson will take over next spring. … Carlson tied Janie Takeda Reed (2013) for sixth on the single-season total bases list with 121. … Bird wrapped up her career with five homers and 13 RBIs in NCAA Regional play.

I brought it up, because I have heard of quite a few problem parents for coaches in the past. Something plausible to ponder in the long off-season…

But I will always remember Akili for this...(the winning points) And this!

I have thought about this before...how a notable alum and player could be a problem for our coaches. Akili was a QB coach for hire, and I believe counseled prior players at Oregon. He is a great fan, and has a very talented son who will sign as a QB this December for Oregon. In fact "Jr." was up here this weekend to help recruit the big group of recruits to OBD, so I love how he is helping the staff. But could a consultant who-has-a-Duck-in-the-fight be an issue later? Playing time? NIL? The complexities of being a college coach these days---whew!

Oregon ended up third in the conference, by only a game. The Ducks were picked to be fourth in the pre-season, and I cannot complain as we had our chances a ton of times where a game would slip through our fingers. We lost three one-run games where we left multiple runners on bases to end innings in those losses, where one hit wins the game and our conference. (We had the tiebreaker on Arizona, as Oregon won that series) We play in the conference tournament on Wednesday against Utah at 2:30, and USC on Thursday at 2:30 in our three-team pod. Oregon needs to do well, to assure our spot in the NCAA tournament, as last year our conference had two very good teams that should have been in the tournament, but were left out. Even though the Pac-12 has won more Baseball 'Nattys than all the other conferences combined....we don't get enough respect. Imagine that!